Saving Money for your Wish List

Money Saving Tips for Everyone

If the thought of saving money and budgets gives you anxiety attacks, then you are not alone!

I don't hear too much talk about budgets at parties, or around the water cooler, I mean how do you make that subject exciting?

One way to save money, is to consider how much money you could have at the end of the year, if you watch your pennies each week. The best way to do this, is to come up with something you really want to do, or would like to have. If you just tell yourself to save money, that is not enough motivation. You need something new to look forward to!

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Create a Wish List - 5 Money Saving Tips for Everyday Life

So, the first thing you need to do, is create your wish list. This could be anything from paying off that stubborn bill that just won't go away, or a great vacation, big screen TV, or whatever is likely to motivate you to curb your spending or get you to sit down with a pen and paper and work it out.

Now that you have that motivation, figure out how much money you will need to accomplish this task.

Example: You want to save $2500.00 for a purchase 12 months from now.

1. Take $2500.00 and divide it by 52 weeks, and that works out to $48.08 per week. It doesn't sound too bad when you break it down right?

2. Now take a look at your weekly expenses. Figure out how much you could shave and from where. Do you really need to buy a coffee or latte or muffin on the way to work?

3. That could save you approx: $1.50 per day or more,

4. At the grocery store, keep to the outer aisles, and away from as much packaging as possible, this forces you to create many of your meals from fresh ingredients, which is better for you anyways, and saves you some money. If you normally spend $125.00 per week maybe you could manage to shave off 10%, which would be another $12.50 savings there.

5. Do you bring your lunch to work? Do you buy a afternoon snack? or goodies on the way home from work?. Even if you could save $5.00 a day during a work week (5 days) that really adds up, and if you buy takeout dinners on the way home, there is another money saver.

You can get some really cool looking lunch bags that will make you want to bring your lunch to work. So if you were visioning brown paper sacks, then check these out.

Tips for Saving Money - The Meat and Potatoes of it all!

$1.50 x 5 = $7.50 (take out coffees, could be more if you get a muffin as well!)

$12.50 (groceries)

$5.00 x 5 = $25.00 (extras at work or bought lunch, this could even be higher!)

Total: $45.00 !!

That is $45.00 just with those three areas. Saving money doesn't have to hurt too badly! Now obviously, you are not going to live like a hermit, but pick a few places you could shave some money off, and think about your goal for this money, and you can really become aware of where a dollar here and a dollar there go.

It really does add up. So, you don't need to think about saving big numbers, just break it down into a weekly, even daily savings plan. Then take the set amount of money you have come up with. In this case $48.08 per week, and have it automatically taken out of your main account and put into a savings account.

You will get used to the reduced amount, and you will feel good to see the balance start to grow over the next year. Then pat yourself on the back, and feel good about your purchase. You worked hard for it, you didn't put it on credit or the "pay later" plan, you just saved up for it, and bought it.

The saying: "Watch out for the pennies and dollars will take care of themselves" is very true now as it was back then. So, start saving money for yourself and make a new wish list.